ENGLEWOOD — An alderman returned to his campout to stop violence on a South Side street Monday, a day after two people were shot in their faces early Sunday as he talked about his indefinite stay on Facebook Live.
Ald. David Moore (17th) said he won’t be deterred by the shooting and plans to stay on 73rd Street until he sees a positive turn in an area he’s called “an open-air drug market.”
Moore announced plans Friday to sleep in a tent on 73rd Place between Ada Street and Racine Avenue to deter drug deals and other crimes. The Englewood street has been tied to at least three recent homicides, including the shooting death of 18-year-old Trinity Boswell June 9.
Moore slept in his tent Friday night and planned to stay again Saturday before “shots rang out,” he told Block Club.
On a Facebook Live video posted on Moore’s account beginning 1:03 a.m. Sunday, the South Side alderman is seen discussing a Father’s Day barbecue with a neighbor who says his presence is disturbing the community. Minutes into the conversation, someone fires shots, and the screen goes dark as Moore moves from his post.
Police officials confirmed officers responded to a shooting at 1:07 a.m. in the 7300 Block of South Ada Street.
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A 48-year-old man and 29-year-old woman were shot in their faces and taken to the University of Chicago Hospital in serious condition, police said.
No one is in custody, and detectives are investigating.
“We won’t be pushed out here,” Moore says in the Facebook video. “This is what people have to live with, and nobody should have to live with. This is a real-life situation, and I’m very angry right now.”
Moore blasted Mayor Brandon Johnson’s stance on policing, and called for a continuation of Chicago’s ShotSpotter contract. The alderman has butted heads with some progressive alderpeople who want to abolish ShotSpotter.
“We want ShotSpotter and every tool needed to eliminate crime,” Moore wrote. “I challenge you to come out and spend 2 days on this block with me. I’m tired of [people] listening to white progressives who are making money on deciding what is best for our community and I’m tired of this administration following their lead.”
Immediately following the shooting, someone on the block “tried to blame me for it,” Moore told Block Club. “They said if the guy was on his own street, [the shooting] wouldn’t have happened.”
Moore didn’t camp out early Sunday following the shooting or Sunday night, he said. But he returned to the Englewood street Monday afternoon, “and it seemed like guys were trying to set up,” Moore said.
Moore set up his tent Monday and plans to stay until law enforcement — including Chicago police, Cook County police or Illinois State authorities — create and enact a plan to stop the “open-air drug market,” he said.
“If they come up with a clear strategy to keep it [clean], then that’s when I can leave,” Moore said.“I haven’t heard that strategy yet.”
The Police Department works to protect every neighborhood, Don Terry, chief communications officer at the agency, said in a statement to Block Club.
“The safety of our communities is a shared responsibility with our fellow City partners and elected officials, including members of the Chicago City Council,” Terry said. “We remain committed to working alongside our elected officials and maintaining open lines of communication so that together, we can strengthen safety for all Chicagoans.”
Moore learned about crime on 73rd and Ada Street five years ago when his aunt lived on the street, he said. She moved from her Englewood home two years ago “because she said she couldn’t take it anymore,” Moore said.
“She made me aware of it, but other people have called me over the past five years,” Moore said. “I’ve been working with [the Police Department] and other law enforcement over the past five years, waiting for something to get done.”
Moore has hosted “operation clean” events with city departments to clean the block. Friday was his third attempt to make the block look nice, he said.
In the past, “things have cleared up for a day or two, then people are back at it,” Moore said. Neighbors have told him local leaders “aren’t serious about it,” Moore said.
When Boswell was shot and killed, “several neighbors called me and said they were tired of this and asked me what am I going to do about it,” Moore said.
Camping out was his “last resort,” Moore said.
“I know what I’ve been doing and, evidently, what I’ve been doing is not helping,” Moore said. “I don’t know what else to do. I’m asking somebody else, tell me, what else can I do? Give me something.”
Still, camping out on the Englewood street has been “effective,” Moore said.
Neighbors have come out on their porches and children have played in their front yards, Moore said.
“But it can’t be a temporary thing,” Moore said. “We can’t keep having this situation for [neighbors]. We have to do something for them.”
Local authorities have to develop a “strategy” for preventing crime permanently, Moore said.
“You can tow cars for the people buying drugs. You can make arrests when you see transactions. You have to make it uncomfortable,” Moore said.
Until that change happens, Moore “will be out there,” he said. He’s hoping it’s short term.
“Somebody or collectively got to come up with a strategy,” Moore said. “Should it be the alderman out there putting his life on the line? What is your plan? This would not happen over in Beverly, and this wouldn’t happen on the North Side on a residential block. I promise you that.”
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